


wandering

by SilverGopher



Category: Fallout (Video Games)
Genre: AU (things and characters changed), F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-12-30 17:25:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12113613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverGopher/pseuds/SilverGopher
Summary: An AU where glory fills deacons role, but with personalities intact. Features asexual characters and graphic violence. Will be updated whenever.





	1. Before the End

It was not a good morning. The alarm didn't go off on time, but she got up at six anyways. Nightmares can be awful, but last night they were something else. It had been years since she wet the bed, but embarrasment made her take it to the laundry anyway.

When she opened the doors, Codsworth started powering up. Vel didn't like codsworth. It wasn't anything the robot did, but rather the people his smarmy accent reminded her of. She shoved the pissstained sheets into the washer, and poured in the abraxo.

Codsworth interjected,“ma'am I am quite capable of doing that for you if you prefer. Need only say the words.” the voice made her hair stand on end, but if codsworth noticed he didn't mention. He waited a slow minute for her response, and when it turned out there was none, he left to go about his other duties.

Nora and Nate got up at six thirty, to codsworth's breakfast. Then Nate went to work. Vel still wasn't sure how she felt about Nate even a year later. She had served with Nate for a week or two, so when Nora brought him home from the bar she didn't object. Nate fufilled needs that Vel couldn't, but at the same time he was the reason Vel slept alone. She let out a dejected sigh as she realized the wash cycle was an hour, and plus the dryer meant Nora would know. She turned it on anyway.

She went to her room, a sparse semi spartan affair, and one she shared with the baby. She had a mattress on the floor, now devoid of sheets, and a small bookshelf. All her weapons had been moved to the basement when they baby came. And Vel wasn't sure how she felt about that. The baby occupied Nora's time, and left little room for her, but she wouldn't begrude Nora her happiness. Her morning routine tried to get back on track, push ups and all, but it had been thrown off and that set her on edge.

 

Vel didn't shower because she had nowhere to be. Besides the baby shit itself so who was he to judge his guardian. She did put on deordant, as a premeptive appeasment to eveyone else, and then just as she was ready to meet the day, or as ready as she would ever be the baby started crying.

“Codsworth, Shania's crying. Do your thing.” she implored as she bustled out the door, and joined the table. Her breakfast as always was sugar bombs, though her compatriots, if she was even still allowed to use that word, being discharged and all, had bacon and eggs. Oddly enough not eating codsworth cooking that morning would go on to being one of the biggest regrets of her life. When Nate was finished he pecked Nora on the cheek and got in his car. As the engine revved, Vel watched Nora sniff.

“Vel, how many days has it been since you showered? You smell more than normal.” Vel realized she hadn't changed her pants, damn she was losing it. Whatever else the army had been, it had given her more of a routine than this.

“It's uh...been three days...i think.” Vel admitted, slightly ashamed of herself.

“You think? Go take a shower you daft woman,and when your'e done join me on the couch. We need to talk.”

“Fine, fine, i'll do it.”

 

The shower was brief, easier that way. She didn't wash her hair, never did. Couldn't stand water on it. She knew Nora only tolerated that, but it was one of the few points she was unwilling to budge on, even for her. hair pulled back ,and fresh clothes on, or as fresh as anything in the pile she called a closet and she went to sit beside her wife. the couch was old, but soft, sewn over in patches.

"Vel, honey, whats wrong. Ever since you came back you've been different. And it's scaring me a little, and the weirdest part is i don't know why. I don't know wether i should be afraid because you're stockpiling weapons, or because you put them away when i asked.' the tv was a low hum in the background. This conversation had probably been a long while coming.

"Nora, i don't know. The army showed me that i was only good at one thing. and it's something i'll never tell you about. Because you don't need to carry that weight. But safe to say it messed me up, and i'm still recovering."

"Vel, you know there medications that might help, Right? we can get you a prescription."

"no, they come in needles. i'll handle it myself." Vels lip quivered a bit before she continued, "Do...do you hate me now? the marriage was a big step, but if you want a divorce i wouldn't blame you. Nates pulling it back together better than i am. you'll get less shit if he's the one wearing a ring." 

Nora sighed, a low pleasant sound. She worried this might come up, "Vel i love you. I love you in a way i'll never love Nate, and i'm never going to leave you. Okay? do you feel like your'e being replaced? because you're not, there just more people i have to split myself between." it was true, after all.

Vel, sniffed, barely holding back tears, "I knew that, but you have no idea how big of a relief it is to hear you say that. it...uh...takes a weight off my chest." she pushed herself up a bit, laying her head on Nora's comforting shoulder. what should have been the rest of the day, only lasted three minutes before the door bell rang.

"i'll get it," She grumbled. with her luck it was a salesman.

"Hi! vault etc calling!" of course it was, and three weeks late.

"Your'e late. give me the damned paperwork." she filled it out as he continued with the company line. She growled when he turned to leave.

"anything for the family right?"

"Anything for the family. Shauns not mine, but i'll die defending him if i have too." rolled out of Vels mouth before she could stop it, and Nora snickered. Val rejoined Nora at the couch. they were together when the sirens went off and Vel found herself running with shania in her arms, Nora barely keeping up. they thudded up the path to the vault, but soldiers were checking. Val saw the rank of insignia.

"Private, you will damned well let us through this godmanable gate. were on the motherfucking list!"

He went down a check list, lip pulling back in a slight sneer as he found that Nora and Val share a surname. but he let them through. 

 

Everything was a blur, except the bomb. And Val knew she would see it overnight until the day she died. she found herself switching into a vault suit, baggier than the adds would have you believe. the pin up models that sold the vaults wore skin tight lycra or nylon or some other fabric. This was just a blue cotton jumpsuit with padding on the knees and gold trim. it was roomy enough, so Vel didn't freak. Despite what the doctors wanted she tucked her necklace under it instead of dropping it in their receptacle.

 

Everything was gold, and then there was rage. A Man with a scar shot Nora, stole Shania. she tried to rip it open, to tear it apart. She failed. And she was cold again.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

There were no tears. Nate had said he wanted tears when he was gone. Nora had agreed with Nate. But Vel didn't have any tears to shed, she wondered if that made her a bad person. no...it meant she had a job to do, she thought. perhaps it was best that she had been the survivor, Nora wouldn't be up to the task. Shania would be found, dead out alive.

 

The bugs didn't freak her as much as they probably should've, if nothing else they measured her. If they were at B-movie sizes, then she had a rough idea of the kinds of things she could expect-giant monsters, and likely madmen and a smattering of survivors. Arms would likely be scarce, but she doubted they'd find her stash. She had hidden it well. when kept a tight grip on her necklace as the elevator creaked and crowned and rasped. there was a pit in her gut that didn't go away till she felt herself sink into dirt. She was still blind when she stepped off the elevator plate, but that resolved quickly.

 

It wasn't the first bombed out city she'd seen. but it was the first time it had been her city. And that made all the difference. in all her life leading up to this moment she had cried four times. Once when she was born. Once when she killed her first man. Once when she was shot. And once when she revealed herself to Nora. The Fith time she was looking on the ruins of her home. Like most things she did, nobody noticed, but tears rolled down her face. there was no sobbing, too likely to get her killed.

 

Sanctuary hills was like any other bombed out subdivision she had walked through, but this one hurt. Now she could understand the tears she seen in Anchorage. it turns out Codsworth was still alive, battered but well enough.

"Miss Vel, oh your back! I've waited so long! Is...is mum with you?" Either the programs had kept running or he'd started to develop a personality of his own. It was a bit of a problem with Robco command line, it was designed to mutate. too often that led to bots mutilating someone. luckily he'd just got needier.

"Codsworth, she didn't make it. that sucks for all of us, but i need to ask some questions. first question, what year is it? second question, man with a scar over his eye, metal armor, big pistol, rough voice. he had some people in cleanroom suits with him."

"of, course i'll answer any questions i can. Um.. a man fitting that description passed through sixty years ago. its 2287 ma'am."

shit this was bad, if Shania had been kept alive she'd be sixty now based on the kidnapper. no sense hunting her down in that case. Hurting the employers or there legacies made more sense.o she had to ask, "Codsworth, did you mess with my stash? has anybody raided it?"

"No miss Vel, its right where you left it."

"thanks codsworth, i'll be back."

 

The stash had been in the basement, and it was a fairly simple one at that. she had been worried about short term survivability, not longevity.  the lights in the basement still worked, but they flickered unpleasantly, so she tried to make it quick. She didn't particularly like the baggy jumpsuit, but she hadn't stashed any clothes. what she had was an abundance of weapons. she picked up her rifle, not the army's, not Nora's, not Nate's. Hers. the army had given her a DKS, but when left to her own devices shed bought a Remington 700 with a 10x optic. She greased the weapon, did maintenance. Two hundred years is rough on a gun, but the old girl head together. when she was certain it would explode on her she loaded it and tossed it on the cot while she finished her other preparations. knives in there sheaves went in her boots, and stepped to her forearms, on the underside, though those knives were short. She buckled on her belt, and a sheath rode at her lower back, and a large bowie knife rode there. It had a fourteen inch blade, so maybe calling it a short sword was more accurate. she had no armor, and she was almost done when she found the razor.

 

If there was a secret that Vel could claim to only have told one person, it was that she hated her hair, or at least the way it was. Military regulation and societal expectation, made her keep it. That and Nora liked it. but know, there was nothing to stop her. She watched as the left side of her head was liberated. But...it didn't feel like enough, not yet. Scissor brought the rest of her hair, that was buzzed short anyway, to resting just below her ear. She felt a lot better as she put her glasses on and left the basement.

The glare was bad, but not as bad as the first time, when she'd left the vault. and this time she felt better, she had a goal, a target and she was kitted out. Her rifle slung over her shoulder, a satchel full of .308 rounds, still in there boxes, and utterly bedecked with knives. And for the first time in a very long time, her necklace of three casings was in the open. it felt right.

of course cods worth had to go and ruin it. "Mis Vel," he interjected, "what did you do to your hair? it was so beautiful!"

"I did exactly what I've wanted to for three years now. stop talking about it. Wheres the nearest populated area?"

"there are some folks down in concord, and they only shot me a few times."

Vel couldn't help herself, "I like them already," She jabbed. cods worth only huffed.

 

The walk into concord was easy enough and she picked up a dog. A purebred german sheppard from the looks of him, and uncannily obedient. He was true military stock. the dog took care of the massive mosquitos, but he knew to quiet down when they come onto the people. Ragged armor and shabby weapons, firing on a man in a nice overcoat, wielding an unholy contraption that fired lasers and...was that a hand crank? thats...borderline barbaric. even so she knew who she was siding with.

It only took a minute to get back into the killing rhythm, even if it was slower. Aim, breathe, pull, work the bolt, repeat. The attackers didn't notice until halfway through the reload, and that when they started unleashing hell in her direction. bullets pinged around her but they were high, anxious and running an adrenaline high, the likely hood of them hitting her was downright abysmal so she carried on, but now she was putting rounds through people who charged her. the first one was wielding a tire iron, and he hit the ground like a marionette when she shattered his knee.  Ka-chunk, click. Bolt cycled, reticule sitting on a knifewielders chest. She ducked and weaved, but leather and fabric and small movement didn't stop the bullet from tearing trough her heart. Ka-chunk, click. third man was taken down by a laser, and then there were no more coming. The man in the hat was wearing the biggest dopiest grin she'd seen in what was technically two hundred and ten years. it felt good.

"Hey, you in the vault suit, you gonna keep helping? cause they're almost through the door." She waved in what she desperately hoped was an affirmative, then she bustled through the door, rifle slung over her shoulder. indoor work wasn't for scopes.

 

"i was going to tell you about some power armor and a minigun, but know i'm not so sure."

"oh...i mean its a great idea, but ya know i'm not trained for that, and i don't have the interface suit. so it would be useless anyway. No idea why people keep thinking that they're easier to use than they are. "

"you seem to know a lot miss? i'm preston garvey, commonwealth minuteman."

"Vel,Nice ta meet y'all. So garvey whats the sitch, how many hostiles are we looking at here?"

"Well this is jared's gang so he could bring to bear up to fifty, but i don't anticipate any more then five or ten more."

"okie dokie, i'm gonna set up on the roof, and we'll take them as they come."

The only hitch in the plan was when a mutated monster showed up. But the deathclaw wasn't that difficult. everyone always overestimates the toughness of flesh and scales, and conveniently forgets that a high-powered rifles were often made to kill through concrete. Three shots, and the deathclaw was done for. Prestons cries of congratulation was massively overblowing the difficulty of the task. The chem head rambled something about fate and a diamond, but Vel didn't believe in prophecy. 

She left them behind and went towards a radio signal that her pip boy had picked up. She wore a three thousand A, thin, made of steel. it was the only model she'd liked so it was the one she bought. Even if the model was three years old at the time. it functioned, and she didn't have to wear a massive bundle of plastic. it was a military signal, but set up by a group called the brother hood of steel. Worth checking it out, she supposed.

the "ghouls had been easy enough, a sharp edge and cutting force and she was through them easy. She really couldn't fathom why the man in power armor had been taken down, he had a laser rifle for christ sake. And the he had the sheer gall to call her a civilian. Her!

"civilian? mother fucking civilian? i didn't do two tours to be talked down to by a second rate soldier who doesn't know how to use the armor thats making him worth a god damn! correct your attitude or i'm fucking Walking!" the man flushed red, perhaps angry, perhaps embarrased.

"Sorry for the offense ma'am, but i need to know who you are, or i'll be escorting you from the premises."

"oh, so i have to tell you who i am, but you don't have to tell me anything? In what world is that fair? i shoulda just left you to die!"

a woman in a duty cap interjected, "Paladin, it would be best too let her know. we need her help." The man in power armor sighed.

"I'm Paladin Danse, brotherhood of steel. over there is Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys. We're part of a recon team, but our supplies are running low, and frankly we could use your help retrieving something to help us contact our superiors." Dance was briefly hopeful that would calm her down, but then he saw her sneer.

"A recon team that didn't realize their base was surrounded by hostiles? oh, my god. You frankly, are an insult to that armor. in a proper world you would have died here."

she stepped back and raised the rifle, before shooting Rhys between the eyes. "And, honestly," the rifle swiveled to Danse, "I'm doing you a favor." She pulled the trigger and the paladin hit the floor with  half a head. The barrel of her rifle trailed lazily over to Haylen, who was reaching for a laser pistol. "Sister, i wouldn't do that if i were you. You deserve to work for someone better. or at the very least a quick death." without a word Haylen shuffled up and followed the strange woman in the blood stained vault suit. Maybe she was thinking about revenge, but she didn't know for sure. 

 

Halyen helped the vaultie, as she had taken to thinking about her take out some mutants for the city, then watched in frustration as her "boss" managed to get the gates open by playing along with a stupid reporter. then she met the mayor, and she started respecting the vaultie a whole lot more.

"I'm the mayor of diamond city."

"how long has your term been so far?"

"Twenty years."

"have you had an election in that time."

"no...i don't see what your'e playing at."

"mayoral elections are an annual event, so either hold one in the next five hours or i'll open a vacancy. "

"Are you threatening me?"

"i sure as shit aren't inviting you to the poelicemans ball! your'e trying to shut down the press, just locked out and threatened a member of the citizenry, and you've ruled for twenty years. You are a tyrant. I make my living killing tyrants. Consider this my professional courtesy." And then Vel walked through the gate. the woman in the red jacket caught up and grabbed her arm, pulling her aside to whisper, "Thanks for standing up to the mayor like that. would you mind if i interviewed you?"

"yes, i would mind actually, never been a fan of the press."

"then why'd you stand up for me like that?"

"the citizenry has a right to a free press. now i got some questions if you don't mind."  

 

After that conversation Haylen learned a few things, her "employer" was probably crazy, didn't know how much bottle caps were worth, and had an odd accent. not much to go with, but they ended up sharing a room in the dugout. Her "boss" changed into a set of carolann and a plain white tee. 

"I've been going over it for hours now, and i just don't get why you're letting me live. you killed everyone else."

"like i said Haylen, you deserve a better outfit than that. Your "Paladin was inept, his armor was in poor repair, and Knight Rhys was going to die anyway. god knows i've seen enough leg shots to know."

"Still, i feel," and she went for her pistol and managed to hit Vel. the laser burned a hole in her shoulder, but it only did surface level damage. weird. Vels knife across her throat did far more. That, was strange.

"Yefim, hate to bother you, but my friend shot me so i cut her. there a bit of a mess in there. Just thought you should know," she informed him as she walked to the bar.

 

 

she was in town for a week before she found a lead she wanted to follow. From conjecture and overheard snippets, everyone was afraid of the institute but only the railroad fought back. so she walked the freedom trail.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

The lights turned on with a sinister hum. Vel could feel the power the were putting out, but she'd seen the mass and slipped some sunglasses on in time.

There were three people around the lights a woman with Vels haircut holding a minion, an officer of sorts in ragged fatigues and scarves, and a runt in a patchy blue suit.

"Who are you, and how did you find us? who gave us away?" Vel was confused for a minute and then she realized what the woman was asking her, and she just started laughing. She managed to get it a bit under control and choke out, "Oh my god!(laughter) you're really asking that? I literally followed a red line to your hideout. (laughter) seriously, how am I the first person to actually stumble in here? (laughter) and don't get me started on your password, Railroad?! What in gods name made you think that was a good idea. Oh my god!(Laughter)."

She managed to stop laughing just as it really started to get on Desdemona's nerves. She was the boss, she shouldn't have to put up with this insubordinate help. She opened her mouth to speak her mind, to put her in her place when the whelp spoke again. "thanks for having me guys, but I gotta go find the railroad. this was a fun scavenger hunt. toodily-ooh!" the whelp had turned to leave when Desdemona finally managed to growl, "We are the railroad. Who are You?"

Vel felt like she had just been punched in the gut, there was no way this was the railroad. She'd had a bad day, and was getting very tired of people lying to her. "yeah, theres no way you're the railroad. an actual secret society or underground organization wouldn't be this blatantly stupid." 

"what do you mean? until you walked in here we had a four month period with no intruders."

"oh, my god you are serious aren't you? do you want me to list the problems numerically or alphabetically?"

"Frankly, do witch ever you prefer, just tell us."

"Okay, first off you aren't exactly low profile. miss minigun would alert the entire downtown area should she pull that butterfly trigger. you leave enough evidence for random beggars in one of this hells capes major settlements to know you exist. Your advice points to a well known tourist trap that ends in your base. You are literally at the end of a big red line. And your password is Railroad. Honestly that one doesn't need clarifying."

Desdemona raised her hands, "so maybe its not the best. What is your name?" this time there was a bite to her voice. Desdemona didn't like being wrong. and she especially din't like to be wrong in front of her men.

Vel could feel the tension in the air. so for the first time since she'd woken up, she decided to be honest. "I'm vel, the farseer. A captain in the United States army, and a trained sniper and counter espionage agent who served with distinticion in the anchorage campaign."

There was a lot there for Desdemona to unpack, and then she got whammies again when Vel kept speaking, "Honestly from what I'd heard I was expecting a terrorist group, and like I was really on board with that. Guess I'll just hunt down the institute myself then."

Desdemona managed to convince to come in side so that they could talk more, without the guns.


End file.
